Punch mounting



'J. A. SMH-H PUNCH MOUNTING NQV- 7, 1944.

- A Filed June 5, 1942 Y@ ,0 l 7 l stantially any desired size or Y the showing in Figure 1;

Patented Nov. 7, 1944 UNITED STATES, PATENT orties Jacob A. Smith, Chicago,

to Claude A. Benja Ill., assigner of one-half min, Chicago, Ill.

rApplication June 5, 1942, Serial No; 445,843

7 Claims.

This invention relates to punch mounting's and more particularly to means \for supporting punches throughout their length to prevent buckling in use. y One of the objects of the invention is to provide a punch mounting in which a punch of subshape can be supported throughout its length except for the end portion which enters the Work.

Still another object of the invention is vto provide a. punch mounting made up of a plurality of blocks held together side by side and having face grooves forming supporting openings to receive punches.

A further object of the invention is to provide a punch mounting in which a plurality of spaced punches may be supported for simultaneous operation.

The above and other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following descriptionwhen read inconnection With the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a verticalsection of thewhole punch and die arrangement, but showing the punch supporter and the limit bolts in side elevation;

Figure 2 is a top plan View of the punch supporting means, the position being reversed from Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-'of Figure 3; and v Figure 5 is a sectional View similar to Figure 4 of an alternative construction.

The present invention is similar in its general principals to that covered by my Patent No. 2,108,619 which illustratesa construction particularly adapted for punches of circular section. According to the present invention, punches of irregular sections may adequately be supported throughout their length except for the end portions which enter the Work Without requiring expensive and difficult machining operations in the manufacture of thel punch mounting and multiple punches may easily be supported in a single mounting.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 4, a punch holder Il) carries a punch pad I I in which the supporting means of the present invention` is supported. A stripper plate I2 is carried by the pad I! through screws I3 whose heads lie in enlarged openings in the holder, springs I4 being provided to urge the stripper plate away from the pad. The pad is provided with one or more openings I5 to receive an upper supporting member I6 and the stripper plate is formed with a similar opening I'I receiving and supporting a lower supporting member I8. A punch is adapted to pierce stock indicated at I9 resting on a die pad 2I which carries a piercing die 22. The die pad 2l may be supported on a base or bolster indicated at 23.

The supporting members of the invention are formed by central blocks 24I and side blocks 25 arranged side by side as shown in Figure 3. Each member as shown includes one central block 24 extending diametrically of the member and side blocks 25 lying on the opposite sides thereof. The blocks are formed to provide a cylindrical outline and have'at their upper ends ilanges 26 for holding them in the die pad and stripper plate respectively. rIhe several blocks of the supporting member are held together by annular rings 2l fitting tightly around the'blocks and of a size to fit closely within the openings I5 and II.

To provide openings through which punches may project, one or more of the blocks may be formed on its meeting face with an elongated groove 28 extending throughout the block and providing an opening through the supporting member. As will be seen in Figure 3, the openings in the supporting members are aligned to support elongated punches 29 extending through both supporting members. The punches have enlarged heads set in recessed openings in the upper supporting member tovprevent them from being pulled out of the supporting members during Withdrawal from the stock. The blocks may be held in alignment by means of dowel pins 3l extending therethrough to prevent relative sliding movement and to insure perfect alignment during assembly.

One of the supporting members is formed at its inner end with an axially extending transverse tongue S2 extending across vthe several blocks forming the supporting member and the opposite supporting member is formed at its inner end with a transverse groove 33 extending across the several blocks forming the supporting member to receive the tongue. Preferably the tongue is formed by an integral projection extending transversely across the blocks 24 andi25 of one member and the groove is cut in the ends of the blocks of the other member. As best seen in Figure 4, the tongue 32 and'groove 33 are narrower than the punches 29 which are illustrated as of rectangular outline so-that the tongues will engage the broad sides of the punches and so that the edges of the punches will be supported by the portions of grooves 2t which project into the sides of the groove 33. Due to this construction, when the supporting members are separated as shown in Figure 3, the punches Will be supported laterally throughout their entire length so that they will not buckle under pressure ap* plied longitudinally thereof.

It will be understood that the groove 28 may be partly in the meeting face of one block and partly in the face of the adjacent block. Since these grooves may be formed in these blocks prior to assembly they can easily be cut to the desired shape by a face milling or cutting operation thereby eliminating difficult drilling or reaming operations.

Figure 5 illustrates a construction including four punches mounted in the same composite supporting member but otherwise substantially similar to the construction of Figures 1 to 4. In this supporting member a central block 34 is provided having intermediate blocks 35 at each side thereof and side blocks 36 lying outside of the blocks 35. The several blocks are held together by a band or ring 31 and a dowel pin 38 in the same manner as the blocks in Figures 1 to 4.

At the meeting faces of the several blocks grooves are provided as indicated at 38, 4|, 42 and 43. These grooves may be of difierent sizes and shapes either arranged in pairs as shown or, if desired, each groove may be different. The

grooves are adapted to receive punches 44 shaped Vto correspond to the grooves so that the punches will be properly supported throughout.

The supporting member shown is formed with a transverse axial groove 45 intersecting the punches and receiving a tongue 46 on the complementary supporting member which engages the sides of the punches. In this way, each oi the punches is supported laterally so that it can not buckle.

It will be understood that by the present in- Vention punches of any desired size or shape and including either one or more punches in the same mounting means may be supported to prevent buckling at all stages of the punching opera tion. The invention is susceptible of various other changes and the particular embodiments shown are not intended tobe illustrative of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A punch mounting comprising a pair of supporting members having axially extending interfitting parts slidably engaging each other, each of said members being formed by a plurality of blocks connected side by side with a groove in the meeting faces of one of the blocks to form an opening through the member, a punch extending through the openings in the members, said intertting parts lying on opposite sides of the opening and engaging and laterally supporting the sides of the punch.

2. A punch mounting comprising a pair of supporting members movable toward and away from each other, one of the supporting members being formed on its inner end with a projecting tongue and the other being formed on its inner end with a groove to receive the tongue, each of said members being formed of a plurality of blocks connected side by side and having a groove 'in the meeting face of one of the blocks to form elongated openings through the members which intersect the tongue and groove, and a punch extending through the openings, the tongue and the sides of the openings engaging the sides of the punch to support it laterally.

3. A punch mounting comprising a pair oi supporting members movable toward and away from each other, one of the supporting members being formed on its outer end with an elongated transversely extending tongue and the other with a transverse elongated groove in its outer end to receive the tongue, each of said members being formed of a plurality or blocks connected side by side and having a groove in the meeting face of one of the blocks to form elongated openings through the members, said grooves intersecting and being wider than the tongue and groove, and a punch extending through the openings engaging and laterally supported throughout its length by the sides of the openings and the tongue.

4. A punch 'mounting comprising a pair of supporting members movable toward and away from each other, the supporting members being formed on their adjacent ends with slidably interfitting parts, each of the supporting members being formed by a central block and outer blocks lying side by side and having grooves in their meeting faces forming spaced elongated openings through the members, and punches extending through, the openings, the interfitting parts engaging the sides of and laterally supporting the punches.

5. A punch mounting comprising a pair of supporting members movable toward and away from each other, one of the supporting members being formed with an outwardly extending tongue and the other member being formed with a transverse groove slidably to receive the tongue, each of the members being formed by a central block and outer blocks lying side by side and having grooves in their meeting faces forming spacec' elongated openings through the members, the grooves crossing and being wider than the tongue and groove, and punches extending through the openings engaging and laterally supported throughout rtheir length between the outer ends of the supporting members by the sides of the openings and the tongue.

'6. A punch mounting comprising a pair of supporting members movable toward and away from each other, each of the supporting members being formed by separate blocks lying side by side and forming a cylindrical body, a collar encircling the body to hold the blocks together, one of the blocks being formed on its meeting face with a groove providing an elongated opening, the blocks of one member being formed at one end with projecting parts adjacent and on opposite sides of the opening and the blocks oi" the other member being formed at one end with grooves on opposite sides of the opening to receive the projecting parts, and a punch extending through the openings engaging and laterally supported by said parts.

'7. In a punch mounting, a supporting memA ber comprising a plurality of blocks lying side by side, at least one of the blocks having an elongated groove in its meeting face forming an elongated opening adapted to receive a punch, and one end of the blocks being formed with axially extending parts on opposite sides of the opening for slidable interengagement with complementary grooves on another supporting member on opposite sides of the opening thereby to provide support for a punch extending through the opening.

JACOB A. SMITH. 

